This is what my hands looked like after class last week. I’m still trying to find a way to persuade one or two people that they really don’t need to press the stamp into the inkpad *that* hard! If there is ink on the edge of the rubber, then it’s a little too much pressure. If the whole of the background rubber is awash with ink, then it’s a lot too much pressure. If the entire wood mount is also covered…well…the person cleaning up after you will end up looking like this!
It’s quite a difficult thing to teach someone. I can demonstrate my own technique, ‘til I’m blue in the fingers face, but you have to find the right pressure for yourself. I’ve described it as a tapping motion, rather than a pressing one. Suggested building up the colour gradually, by using two or three gentle taps, rather than trying for even coverage in one firmer push. If an inkpad is particularly ‘juicy’ I sometimes just rest the stamp on the surface and that can be enough. You know it’s level and you won’t get that irritating ‘ghosting’ from inky edges. If you’re a stamper, do you have any other handy hints that I could suggest? I want everyone to get the most from their experience and go home with something they are proud of.
While we’re on the subject of teaching…..I’ve written a few tutorials, to share here on my blog, over the past couple of years. I always use the same format: a photograph of each step, with an explanation underneath. A few people have commented that I should make Youtube videos so I thought I’d ask the question. Is that how you prefer to view tutorials?
I do watch them myself, to get an idea of how to do something. If I was going to follow the directions, I would have to keep stopping and starting the video, while I made my own ‘copy’ of the project. Personally, I prefer to have the directions in a series of images and instructions, that I can have open on my laptop screen, or print out to refer to.
I’m going to make a tutorial for the “Card in a Box”, as a few people said they would like one and I have all the “Blue Peter” bits ready to photograph. It will be in my usual style of words and pictures this time, but I might rethink for the future, depending on feedback.
One last thing, before I go. Abi opened a discussion, about replying to blog comments, last week. A couple of people commented that they didn’t know if they were “no-reply” bloggers. I thought I’d direct you to my own post on the subject from last year. It includes a link to instructions for finding out and fixing, if you’d like to.
Oh, I know I said that was the last thing, but I wanted to share this little teaser. Something that I got very excited about on Friday night. If you’re a Facebook friend you’ll already know, but if you’re not…..can you guess what it is? I’ll tell you the whole story later in the week. Hope you’ve had a great start to yours.
PS Links to the tutorials pictured above can be found here:
